A refrigerator keeps stored goods such as foods by setting the interior of a storage space at a desired temperature. In general, cold air generated by means of an evaporator is supplied into the storage space. When there are a plenty of goods stored in the storage space, the cold air may not smoothly flow therein.
In order to solve the problem, the cold air is supplied from a door side into the storage space. To this end, there has been disclosed a technique by which cold air is delivered to a door and supplied from the door into a storage space. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a refrigerator to which such a technique is applied.
As shown in the figures, a refrigerator main body 2 comprises an outer case 4 of a steel plate and an inner case 6 molded out of synthetic resin installed in the outer case 4, which define an appearance. An insulation layer 7 is formed in a space between the outer and inner cases 4 and 6.
A freezing chamber 8 and a refrigerating chamber 9, as storage spaces, are defined in upper and lower inner portions of the refrigerator main body 2. A heat exchange chamber 10 is provided at the rear of the freezing chamber 8 to generate cold air. An evaporator 11 is installed in the heat exchange chamber 10. The cold air generated in the heat exchange chamber 10 is supplied into the freezing and refrigerating chambers 8 and 9. In general, the cold air generated in the heat exchange chamber 10 is supplied from the rear of the freezing and refrigerating chambers 8 and 9 into the freezing and refrigerating chambers 8 and 9.
Doors 12 and 14 are installed at front faces of the freezing and refrigerating chambers 8 and 9, respectively. Each of the doors 12 and 14 is pivotable with a side thereof supported by the refrigerator main body 2, and selectively opens and closes each of the freezing and refrigerating chambers 8 and 9. The doors 12 and 14 are provided with structures that are supplied with the cold air generated in the heat exchange chamber 10 and then supply the cold air to the freezing and refrigerating chambers 8 and 9. Here, referring to the door 14 shown in FIG. 2 for opening and closing the refrigerating chamber 9, a structure for supplying the cold air will be described.
A rear surface of the door 14 is defined by a door liner 15, which is generally formed of synthetic resin. In addition, other portions of the door 14 with the exception of its rear surface are defined by a door exterior plate 16. A support protrusion 17 is formed around a marginal portion of the door liner 15 defining the rear surface of the door 14. The support protrusion 17 serves to support both ends of a door basket 20. A plurality of horizontal protrusions 18 are formed to connect both side portions of the support protrusion 17 to each other while being spaced apart from one another at predetermined intervals. The horizontal protrusion 18 serves to support a bottom surface of the door basket 20. Reference numeral 19 designates catching portions for fixing the door basket 20.
The door basket 20 is installed on the rear surface of the door 14. An accommodation space 22, which is open toward a substantially upper portion of a basket body 21 made of synthetic resin, is defined in the door basket 20. Both ends of a rear surface of the door basket 20 are formed with hook portions 24 which are caught by the catching portions 19, respectively.
In the meantime, a cold air communication portion 26 is provided in a side portion of the support protrusion 17. When the door 14 is closed, the cold air communication portion 26 is a portion which communicates with a cold air duct (not shown) provided on a side of the refrigerator main body 2 and to which the cold air is delivered. A flow guide 28 is provided at a lower end of the horizontal protrusion 18 adjacent to the portion of the support protrusion 17 where the cold air communication portion 26 is provided. A rear surface of the flow guide 28, a bottom surface of the horizontal protrusion 18, and a portion of the door liner 15 defining the rear surface of the door 14 define a duct in which a flow channel is defined. The flow channel serves to guide the cold air from the door 14 to the front of the refrigerating chamber 9. To this end, a plurality of cold air vents 29 are formed through the flow guide 28.
However, the refrigerator according to the aforementioned prior art has the following problems.
The flow channel through which the cold air flows is defined in the rear surface of the door 14 by the door liner 15, the horizontal protrusion 18, and the flow guide 28. In order to supply the cold air into the flow channel, the cold air communication portion 26 should be formed to penetrate through the support protrusion 17. However, since an insulation layer is formed in the support protrusion 17, there is a problem in that it is difficult to form the cold air communication portion 26 such that the cold air passes through the support protrusion 17 and is delivered into the flow channel. That is, the difficulty is produced in that the cold air communication portion 26 should be formed to penetrate through the support protrusion 17 and a foam liquid should not leak from the cold air communication portion 26 upon manufacture of the door 14.
Further, in the prior art, since the cold air communication portion 26 is provided in the support protrusion 17 of the door liner 15 defining the rear surface of the door 14, there is a problem in that in case of a refrigerator that does not require the cold air communication portion 26 among a variety of refrigerators, a different door liner 15 without the cold air communication portion 26 should be separately manufactured. That is, there is a problem in that the door liner 15 is not compatible.
In addition, since the flow channel defined by the door liner 15, the horizontal protrusion 18 and the flow guide 28 between the both side portions of the support protrusion 17 has a flow cross-sectional area relatively larger than that of the cold air communication portion 26, there are problems in that severe swirl occurs in the flow channel and the cold air is not uniformly discharged through the cold air vents 29.
Next, in the prior art, there is a problem in that dewdrops are formed on the support protrusion 17 around the cold air communication portion 26 and the flow guide 28 adjacent to the support protrusion 17 due to temperature difference.
In addition, the flow guide 28 is installed on the rear surface of the door 14 to extend from side to side, so that the flow guide 28 can define the flow channel in cooperation with the door liner 15. Therefore, the cold air does not leak only when the flow guide 28 is in close contact with the door liner 15. However, when the flow guide 28 extends from side to side or gets deformed due to use for a long time, the flow guide 28 is not brought into close contact with the door liner 15. Thus, there is a problem in that a gap occurs between the flow guide 28 and the door liner 15, resulting in leakage of the cold air.
Of course, although the cold air is delivered into the storage space even when the cold air leaks from between the flow guide 28 and the door liner 15, the cold air cannot be delivered in desired directions. Thus, there are problems in that it is impossible to get rapid cooling effects and the goods stored in the door basket 20 below the flow guide 28 are overcooled.
In addition, the storage space in the refrigerator is made nearly airtight, and external air can be introduced thereinto only when the doors 12 and 14 are opened and closed. Thus, odor generated from the goods kept in the storage space or other harmful components repeatedly circulate in the refrigerator together with the cold air. In such a case, there are problems in that other goods kept in the storage space are affected, and an odor occurs or mold propagates in the storage space.